Thousands participate in pro-British demonstration

Thousands of people gathered in Freetown’s soccer stadium on Thursday in a strong show of support for the British troop presence in Sierra Leone, media sources told IRIN.

The editor of one newspaper said on Friday that about 20,000 people listened as speakers condemned Liberia’s president, Charles Taylor, for what they said was his destabilising role in Sierra Leone.
Taylor recently criticised the British military presence in Sierra Leone and said his country was ready to send Liberian peacekeeping troops to the country.

“Taylor is trying to inflame British public opinion against the deployment,” the source said, “and it is impossible to whip up anti-British feelings here.”

The demonstration was organised by the Civil Society Movement, which wants British and Nigerian troops to work jointly to defeat the Revolutionary United Front. Britain has sent some 500 troops to Sierra Leone where they have been training the new Sierra Leonean army.

The source said that impressed residents watched last week as hundreds of Royal Marine commandos stormed the beach just outside Freetown in a robust demonstration of support for the government.

“One thing they (the public) like about the British is that they don’t mince matters,” the source said. He added that the message to the RUF was for them to seize the chance to enter the peace process faithfully.